The Raeburn Shield is an unofficial rugby union lineal championship contested in international men's rugby union. The title follows a "title holder" system - similar to a boxing world title or New Zealand's Ranfurly Shield, where the holder of the Shield defends it in each subsequent international match they play. If the holder loses, the winning team becomes the new holder.

The title traces its lineage to the first international rugby union match played between Scotland and England at Raeburn Place in Edinburgh on 27 March 1871. Scotland's victory in that match is treated as the first championship win, and the title is considered to have passed between national teams through successive Test matches since then.

The Raeburn Shield is not an official competition organised by World Rugby, but rather a statistical and historical concept used by rugby historians and fans to track a continuous lineal champion. A women's version of the trophy, the Utrecht Shield, follows the same format.

As of 27 September 2026, Australia are the current holders following their victory over South Africa in Perth.

Concept The Raeburn Shield operates on a lineal championship system. The team holding the shield defends it in every international Test match they play. If the holder wins or draws the match, they retain the shield. If the holder loses, the opposing team becomes the new holder.

Because the title changes hands only when the current holder is defeated, it can be won outside of major tournaments and may change hands during any international fixture. This format has led to the shield occasionally being held by teams that have not won major competitions.

History The concept of a lineal championship in rugby was first proposed by the shield's creator, David Algie, a New Zealand born rugby fan and creator of the Raeburn Shield, in 2008. The concept emerged from discussion on an online rugby forum, where Algie and others suggested applying a "winner-stays-on" championship model to Test rugby results. Since its creation, the Raeburn Shield has been a fan-driven title maintained and promoted by supporters rather than official rugby governing bodies, and it continues to gain recognition among international rugby enthusiasts.

The Raeburn Shield's lineage begins with the first international rugby union match, played between Scotland and England in Edinburgh on 27 March 1871. The match was arranged following a challenge published in Bell's Weekly on 8 December 1870, signed by the captains of five Scottish clubs, inviting a team "selected from the whole of England" to play a 20-a-side game under rugby rules. Scotland won the game by a goal and one try, with Angus Buchanan scoring the first international rugby try. In the return match at the Kennington Oval, London, in 1872, Scotland were defeated, ending the first Raeburn Shield run.

List of shield holders As of 28 September 2026 Match Defender Score Challenger Date 1 0G–1G 27 March 1871 – – 2 1G–2G 5 February 1872 0 315d (10m9d) 3 0G–1G 5 March 1877 4 1855d (5y1m0d) 4 1G–2G 28 February 1880 2 1090d (2y11m23d) 5 0G–0G(2T) 4 March 1882 1 735d (2y0m4d) 6 (1T)0G–0G(2T) 3 March 1883 0 364d (11m27d) 7 0G–2G 5 February 1887 9 1435d (3y11m2d) 8 0–2G 19 February 1887 0 14d 9 0–0G(1T) 4 February 1888 1 350d (11m16d) 10 0–2G 3 March 1888 0 28d 11 0–1G 10 March 1888 0 7d 12 0–6 1 March 1890 4 721d (1y11m19d) 13 3–9 7 March 1891 3 371d (1y0m6d) 14 0–5 5 March 1892 2 364d (11m27d) 15 11–12 7 January 1893 0 308d (10m2d) 16 3–24 6 January 1894 2 364d (11m30d) 17 5–7 3 February 1894 0 28d 18 3–6 2 February 1895 2 364d (11m30d) 19 3–6 9 March 1895 0 35d (1m7d) 20 0–6 25 January 1896 0 322d (10m16d) 21 4–8 14 March 1896 0 49d (1m18d) 22 3–8 20 February 1897 1 343d (11m6d) 23 3–12 13 March 1897 0 21d 24 6–9 5 February 1898 0 329d (10m23d) 25 0–8 19 February 1898 0 14d 26 3–9 18 February 1899 1 364d (11m30d) 27 4–15 3 February 1900 1 350d (11m16d) 28 0–13 5 January 1901 1 336d (11m2d) 29 8–18 9 February 1901 0 35d (1m4d) 30 5–14 1 February 1902 2 357d (11m23d) 31 0–6 7 February 1903 2 371d (1y0m6d) 32 3–21 6 February 1904 2 364d (11m30d) 33 12–14 12 March 1904 0 35d (1m6d) 34 3–10 11 March 1905 2 364d (11m27d) 35 6–11 10 March 1906 3 364d (11m27d) 36 12–15 24 November 1906 0 259d (8m14d) 37 5–13 13 August 1921 7 5376d (14y8m20d) 38 5–9 27 August 1921 0 14d 39 6–7 21 July 1928 2 2520d (6y10m24d) 40 6–11 18 August 1928 0 28d 41 5–13 1 September 1928 0 14d 42 8–9 6 July 1929 0 308d (10m5d) 43 13–20 12 September 1931 2 798d (2y2m6d) 44 17–22 2 July 1932 0 294d (9m20d) 45 3–21 16 July 1932 0 14d 46 11–25 11 August 1934 1 756d (2y0m26d) 47 6–11 5 September 1936 1 756d (2y0m25d) 48 6–13 4 September 1937 2 364d (11m30d) 49 14–18 5 September 1953 11 5845d (16y0m1d) 50 8–18 19 September 1953 0 14d 51 6–10 14 July 1956 3 1029d (2y9m25d) 52 3–8 4 August 1956 0 21d 53 10–17 18 August 1956 0 14d 54 3–6 6 September 1958 4 749d (2y0m19d) 55 8–17 20 September 1958 0 14d 56 0–13 25 June 1960 0 644d (1y9m5d) 57 3–11 23 July 1960 0 28d 58 3–8 27 August 1960 1 35d (1m4d) 59 5–9 10 August 1963 9 1078d (2y11m14d) 60 6–22 7 September 1963 1 28d 61 6–8 25 July 1964 1 322d (10m18d) 62 6–9 27 February 1965 4 217d (7m2d) 63 6–11 15 January 1966 1 312d (10m9d) 64 6–9 12 March 1966 1 66d (2m7d) 65 3–8 11 February 1967 1 336d (10m30d) 66 12–16 25 February 1967 0 14d 67 3–26 15 July 1967 1 140d (4m20d) 68 14–19 29 July 1967 1 14d 69 15–21 25 November 1967 1 119d (3m27d) 70 6–17 25 July 1970 8 973d (2y8m0d) 71 8–9 8 August 1970 0 14d 72 3–14 29 August 1970 0 21d 73 9–18 3 June 1972 6 644d (1y9m5d) 74 0–9 6 January 1973 0 217d (7m3d) 75 6–13 10 February 1973 1 35d (1m4d) 76 6–14 24 February 1973 0 14d 77 14–16 2 February 1974 3 343d (11m9d) 78 6–9 2 March 1974 0 28d (1m0d) 79 6–15 23 November 1974 0 266d (8m21d) 80 7–16 24 July 1976 2 609d(1y8m1d) 81 9–15 14 August 1976 0 21d 82 10–15 4 September 1976 0 21d 83 9–14 15 August 1981 3 1806d (4y11m11d) 84 12–24 29 August 1981 0 14d 85 22–25 12 September 1981 0 14d 86 16–19 28 August 1982 4 350d (11m16d) 87 18–33 11 September 1982 0 14d 88 9–15 19 November 1983 2 434d (1y2m8d) 89 6–18 4 February 1984 0 77d (2m16d) 90 22–28 20 May 1984 2 106d (3m16d) 91 3–18 10 November 1984 0 174d (5m21d) 92 16–24 22 June 1985 8 224d (7m12d) 93 15–23 29 June 1985 0 7d 94 17–18 19 January 1986 4 204d (6m21d) 95 15–22 2 February 1986 0 14d 96 15–23 2 March 1986 1 28d (1m0d) 97 13–15 31 May 1986 4 62d (2m1d) 98 9–22 7 June 1986 0 35d (1m4d) 99 14–27 21 June 1986 0 14d 100 12–13 23 August 1986 3 63d (2m2d) 101 9–22 6 September 1986 0 14d 102 24–30 13 June 1987 5 280d (9m7d) 103 9–29 20 June 1987 0 7d 104 9–21 18 August 1990 17 1155d (3y1m29d) 105 3–6 24 August 1991 3 371d (1y0m6d) 106 6–16 27 October 1991 4 64d (2m3d) 107 23–26 25 July 1992 5 272d (8m28d) 108 9–15 27 November 1993 4 490d (1y4m2d) 109 12–13 19 February 1994 1 84d (2m23d) 110 13–33 5 June 1994 1 106d (3m17d) 111 18–27 25 May 1995 7 354d (11m20d) 112 16–21 13 July 1996 9 415d (1y1m18d) 113 25–32 27 July 1996 0 14d 114 22–32 31 August 1996 3 35d (1m4d) 115 32–35 19 July 1997 6 322d (10m19d) 116 16–24 11 July 1998 9 357d (11m22d) 117 13–14 18 July 1998 0 7d 118 7–13 5 December 1998 6 140d (4m17d) 119 31–32 11 April 1999 3 127d (4m6d) 120 31–38 14 October 1999 7 186d (6m3d) 121 20–35 20 October 1999 0 6d 122 18–30 24 October 1999 0 4d 123 31–43 31 October 1999 0 7d 124 12–35 6 November 1999 0 6d 125 35–39 15 July 2000 3 252d (8m9d) 126 23–24 5 August 2000 1 21d 127 19–22 18 November 2000 3 105d (3m13d) 128 14–20 20 October 2001 9 336d (11m2d) 129 29–40 17 November 2001 1 28d 130 14–16 3 August 2002 8 259d (8m17d) 131 31–33 17 August 2002 0 14d 132 10–30 9 November 2002 0 84d (2m23d) 133 17–25 15 February 2003 2 98d (3m6d) 134 16–17 30 August 2003 7 196d (6m15d) 135 14–45 6 September 2003 0 7d 136 13–19 6 March 2004 9 182d (6m0d) 137 17–31 12 June 2004 2 98d (3m6d) 138 21–23 24 July 2004 2 42d (1m12d) 139 18–23 7 August 2004 0 14d 140 19–23 21 August 2004 0 14d 141 12–17 13 November 2004 1 84d (2m23d) 142 19–26 12 March 2005 5 119d (3m27d) 143 13–27 25 June 2005 2 105d (3m13d) 144 12–30 9 July 2005 0 14d 145 20–33 23 July 2005 0 14d 146 12–30 27 August 2005 2 35d (1m4d) 147 20–21 2 September 2006 13 371d (1y0m6d) 148 15–32 11 November 2006 1 70d (2m9d) 149 17–20 11 February 2007 3 92d (3m0d) 150 18–26 11 March 2007 1 28d (1m0d) 151 18–27 17 March 2007 0 6d 152 23–29 26 May 2007 0 70d (2m9d) 153 19–22 16 June 2007 2 21d 154 21–26 23 June 2007 0 7d 155 15–20 30 June 2007 0 7d 156 12–26 21 July 2007 1 21d 157 18–20 6 October 2007 4 77d (2m15d) 158 9–14 13 October 2007 0 7d 159 6–15 20 October 2007 0 7d 160 8–19 5 July 2008 4 259d (8m15d) 161 28–30 12 July 2008 0 7d 162 9–16 19 July 2008 0 7d 163 10–39 2 August 2008 1 14d 164 22–27 13 June 2009 8 315d (10m11d) 165 10–14 20 June 2009 0 7d 166 19–28 25 July 2009 2 35d (1m5d) 167 6–21 12 September 2009 3 49d (1m18d) 168 6–33 19 September 2009 0 7d 169 24–26 30 October 2010 14 406d (1y1m11d) 170 18–35 13 November 2010 1 14d 171 11–21 27 November 2010 1 14d 172 20–39 27 July 2011 0 242d (8m0d) 173 14–30 6 August 2011 0 10d 174 5–18 20 August 2011 0 14d 175 9–11 9 October 2011 4 50d (1m19d) 176 6–20 16 October 2011 0 7d 177 21–38 1 December 2012 14 412d (1y1m14d) 178 3–30 16 March 2013 4 95d (3m5d) 179 8–23 8 June 2013 1 94d (3m2d) 180 6–54 2 November 2013 2 147d (4m25d) 181 25–27 4 October 2014 11 336d (11m2d) 182 15–29 8 December 2014 1 64d (2m4d) 183 16–23 14 March 2015 5 96d (3m6d) 184 21–35 8 August 2015 1 147d (4m25d) 185 10–16 29 August 2015 1 21d 186 6–15 10 October 2015 4 42d (1m11d) 187 17–34 31 October 2015 2 21d 188 29–40 5 November 2016 10 371d (1y0m5d) 189 9–21 19 November 2016 1 14d 190 18–23 21 October 2017 8 336d (11m2d) 191 6–30 18 November 2017 2 28d 192 13–25 24 February 2018 3 98d (3m6d) 193 8–28 10 March 2018 0 14d 194 8–19 9 June 2018 1 91d (2m30d) 195 21–26 16 June 2018 0 7d 196 20–32 2 February 2019 5 231d (7m17d) 197 13–21 23 February 2019 1 21d 198 19–33 12 August 2019 2 170d (5m20d) 199 6–13 17 August 2019 0 5d 200 17–22 31 August 2019 0 14d 201 12–19 28 September 2019 2 28d 202 3–26 20 October 2019 2 22d 203 26–28 12 September 2021 5 693d (1y10m23d) 204 13–15 7 November 2021 4 56d (1m26d) 205 15–30 13 November 2021 0 6d 206 26–27 20 November 2021 0 7d 207 17–20 5 February 2022 0 76d (2m16d) 208 17–20 12 February 2022 0 7d 209 19–23 26 February 2022 0 14d 210 15–32 12 March 2022 0 14d 211 19–42 2 July 2022 1 112d (3m20d) 212 12–23 9 July 2022 0 7d 213 24–28 14 October 2023 16 462d (1y3m5d) 214 11–12 28 October 2023 1 14d 215 24–25 13 July 2024 2 259d (8m15d) 216 13–23 8 November 2024 0 118d (3m26d) 217 29–30 16 November 2024 0 8d 218 25–26 8 February 2025 2 84d (2m23d) 219 20–31 14 February 2026 11 371d 220 21–43 14 March 2026 2 28d (1m) 221 21–40 18 July 2026 2 126d (4m4d) 222 26–33 29 August 2026 1 42d (1m11d) 223 38-4227 September 2026 2 29d224

Most shield defences

+Most shield defences by each team Team 1 157 44 17 2 92 35 11 3 71 29 11 4 53 25 16 5 46 31 7 6 29 17 8 7 24 17 7 8 18 19 4 9 4 2 2 10 0 2 0 11 0 1 0 12 0 1 0

+Highest consecutive shield defences Team Score Score Tenure 17 20 June 1987 9–29 18 August 1990 9–21 1155d (3y1m29d) 16 9 July 2022 12–23 14 October 2023 24–28 462d (1y3m6d)14 19 September 2009 6–33 30 October 2010 24–26 406d (1y1m11d) 16 October 2011 6–20 1 December 2012 21–38 412d (1y1m14d) 13 27 August 2005 12–30 2 September 2006 20–21 371d (1y0m6d)11 4 September 1937 6–13 5 September 1953 14–18 5845d (16y0m1d) 2 November 2013 6–54 4 October 2014 25–27 336d (11m2d) 8 February 2025 25–26 14 February 2026 20–31 371d (1y0m6d) 10 31 October 2015 17–34 5 November 2016 29–40 371d (1y0m5d)9 3 March 1883 1T–2T 5 February 1887 0G–2G 1435d (3y11m2d) 27 August 1960 3–8 10 August 1963 5–9 1078d (2y11m14d) 25 May 1995 18–27 13 July 1996 16–21 415d (1y1m18d) 9 July 1997 32–35 11 July 1998 16–24 357d (11m22d) 18 November 2000 19–22 20 October 2001 14–20 336d (11m2d) 6 September 2003 14–45 6 March 2004 13–19 182d (6m0d)